It is with utmost pleasure that I nominate Matthew J. Driscoll, RN, MSICU, 11 D, for a DAISY Award. All MICU nurses on 11D provided expert, compassionate care to my daughter E. One nurse, Matthew Driscoll, RN, stands out for his extraordinary care during critical illness and goals of care discussions, in particular. It is often said that nursing is a dance between moving closer to the patient and receding in the background, intervening, and observing. It takes emotional intelligence to know when to move closer and when to step back. Matt has that gift. My daughter was critically ill with acute respiratory failure and acute kidney injury. Ongoing discussions with the attending physician and other consultants were occurring about goals of care with some physicians recommending comfort measures. It was difficult because, early in the hospitalization, there was little data on which to base our decisions. The cause of her illness was still unknown. My daughter was her own agent and she wanted to live, regardless of having to start hemodialysis. In fact, she had chosen to continue with chemotherapy with full knowledge that it may lead to complete kidney failure. For six months or so, she did very well with it, the only line of treatment that had worked over the 7 1/2 years of her cancer journey.

Matt stepped back and listened intently when physicians approached these subjects with me. I always wanted to include my daughter’s nurse in the room for these discussions so that they heard it firsthand. Afterward, he did not shy away from helping me to clarify our preferences. He proved to be a valuable sounding board and provided a lot of social support. He never tried to persuade me in one direction or another. He also helped me to understand my daughter’s current clinical situation, taking time to patiently explain her plan of care and its rationale. I had added comfort when I arrived to find Matt as my daughter’s nurse.

The ability to be fully present to families in a time of crisis is a gift. Matt exemplifies relationship-based care because knowing the patient leads to the best outcomes. Matt was always calm and patient. He made good clinical decisions on my daughter’s behalf. He came on duty several days later to see that my daughter’s oxygen levels were consistently 99% on high-flow oxygen. He used independent nursing judgment to successfully and safely wean her to 4 liters. No other nurse had thought to do so. This is just one example of his expert clinical decision-making. He was also adept in CVVH, and when he was on, the machine rarely emitted that ungodly alarm, for which my daughter was grateful, as was I. Many more caring acts added to her comfort, which did not go unnoticed.

In summary, Matt is an Extraordinary Nurse whose knowledge of critical care nursing and his expert soft skills made all the difference to my daughter and our family during our crisis. As I said, although every nurse on this unit is skillful and reassuring, Matt is exceptionally talented and provided care that meets and exceeds the care and compassion exemplified in the DAISY Award. I am delighted to nominate him for this award as he is, in every way, deserving of this honor. Among E’s many nurses, Matt stands out and we will be forever grateful.